Why Tamil Nadu?
The State of Tamil Nadu in India, has been more progressive than most folks would give it credit for.
In fact, the BCCI when it was first formed, was registered in Chennai as its HQ. When the constitution of India was drafted in 1946, 49 of the 292 members were from what was then the Madras Presidency.
The State of Tamil Nadu is the most industrialized state in India. It has an IT Industry which is currently at about 20bn$, and slated to grow to 43bn$ by 2030. The State has one of the highest GER percentages - where students enroll in higher education after school (way higher than the national average).
The State holds the second position in terms of the number of patent it files (next to Maharashtra and above Karnataka by a good margin). It ranks #1 in the human capital index. It is home to one of the prestigious IITs - the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras - that played a significant part in the telecom revolution of India and continues to be India’s biggest deeptech hub.
The State has a robust Startup ecosystem, with Chennai holding the title of being India’s SaaS Capital.
There is also has the network of over 570 engineering colleges, with over 70 of them (with over 20,000 academicians) actively engaged and publishing in research and development.
There is also the culture. Solving some of the toughest problems in the world, in a collaborative manner, leveraging inter-disciplinary approach, takes patience and an ecosystem which is not in a hurry, but one that enables deep work. The role of a good cup of filter coffee must not be underestimated.
There is never one thing that makes a place better than the other in terms of being future proof, but the progressive policies of the state by the government, the strong drive by the industry to think forward and the latent potential within the workforce, added to global connectivity has in the past and today served well to lead. And it is poised to take on this role.
